


How the Entire Resistance Taught FN-2187 How to Dance

by MellytheHun



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: First Dance, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Team Bonding, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-10
Updated: 2016-06-10
Packaged: 2018-07-14 07:25:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7159694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MellytheHun/pseuds/MellytheHun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I got a Tumblr request for "poe teaching finn how to dance," and here y'all go</p>
            </blockquote>





	How the Entire Resistance Taught FN-2187 How to Dance

When Poe comes back from Starkiller, he almost _can’t_ wait to see Finn. He stumbles through the formalities of patting everyone’s backs and telling everyone what a great job they did, but all he can really think about is seeing Finn. He’s so proud that Finn came through - without Finn, they never would have been able to destroy Starkiller in time. Without Finn, he’d probably be a limp dead body in an interrogation room.

He’s so proud to have that ex-trooper wearing _his_ jacket, so proud to be part of Finn’s life so permanently. Because now that he knows Finn is out there in the galaxy, he’s intent on never, ever leaving the guy alone. He looks forward to telling Finn this as well.

So, when he lands back at base only to find that Finn is not there to greet him on the flight line… he’s disappointed. He’s disappointed until he sees General Organa’s face. Then he’s petrified.

He rushes to the med bay and when he sees firsthand the gaping wound across Finn’s back, he pledges to see the end of Kylo Ren himself, even if it kills him. 

The medical droids socialize a lot with BB-8 while Poe haunts the med bay, pacing relentlessly. The droids worry about him and even BB-8 tells him he ought to go to his own room for a night and just rest. He can’t rest, though. He can’t _sleep_ \- that pink slash of burnt flesh is so jarring - he’s seen a lot in battle, but Finn being hurt by far is the worst thing he’s ever seen. He sees it every time he closes his eyes and so every time he closes his eyes, he hates himself for not being there to protect Finn. Not being able to kill Kylo Ren here and now.

It takes a full week for Finn to come to and when he does, he gets too excited to see Poe and the droids get angry with Poe and push him out of the room.

About an hour after that, Poe invites himself back in and Finn admits that he may have reopened some of his wound moving too fast to see him - they’re able to laugh about it all, somehow. 

The droids talk to Poe about the physical therapy Finn will need and Poe translates for Finn, adoring his befuddled expression. 

“So… a nerve is… permanently damaged?”  


“Yeah,” Poe replies with some regret, “It’s alright, though - it shouldn’t stop you from being able to walk. It might take some practice, but you’ll be putting on your dancing shoes again soon enough.”  


Finn’s brow creases.

“…my dancing shoes?”  


“Your… yeah, your dancings shoes… it’s not literal, it’s a turn of phrase.”  


“Oh,” Finn says, “What does it mean?”  


Poe backs up with a furrowed brow.

“…Finn… have you never danced?”  


There’s a damning pause.

“ _Pfft_ , of _course_ I have! I’m - they - in fact, you know, they used to call me -”  


“Finn,” Poe interrupts, trying his best not to smile, “I already think you’re cool. You don’t have to worry.”  


Finn groans in embarrassment and flops carelessly back into his bed, only to seethe and curse in pain. Poe laughs, helping Finn sit back up, “you never stop moving, do you?”

“Believe me,” Finn says, rubbing at his back with childish frown, “I’d really like to stop moving at some point.”  


Poe laughs and for the next week, nearly everyone on base comes by to meet Finn, to thank him, to help him with his physical therapy, to just ask him how he’s getting along. Poe is there all day nearly everyday and he lives for how flustered Finn becomes under the attention of all these people - he’s so unused to compliments and gratitude, it’d be sad but his big, dark eyes and nervous laugh are too endearing. 

One day, Finn is filling out exit paperwork and looks at Poe as he comes in the door.

“Hey… uhm, what’s a surname?”  


Poe frowns, “it’s a last name. Like, a family name.”

“Oh,” Finn remarks quietly, “…what do I put if I don’t have one?”  


“Dameron. Just - uhm, just write in Dameron as your surname.”  


“That’s _your_ surname, right?”  


“Y-yeah.”  


Poe is nearly feeling guilty and about to call the entire thing off (he sort of hates himself for how much he’s been flirting with Finn - the guy is just starting a life as a normal person, he doesn’t need Poe lingering around every corner) when he hears a deep sigh come from Finn. He watches in worry as Finn rubs at his forehead, looking intensely sad.

“You… you’d really give me both names?”  


Poe’s heart skips a beat and he nods, “yeah, Finn. I’m… I’d be really happy to give you my name.”

“Can we hug again?”  


Poe smiles and walks up to Finn who’s seated on the medical bed. He slots himself between Finn’s knees and wraps Finn up with what he hopes isn’t too much pressure. Finn hugs him much tighter.

+

About a month into acclimating to base-life, Finn finds himself wearing several hats. He’s got a lot of technical engineering background and is helpful in repairs. He somehow finds himself giving “First Order 101″ classes and even General Organa attends those - Poe may have put him up to lecturing his friends, but it quickly gets out of hand and most of the base winds up sitting in front of Finn with notebooks and open curiosity.

Eventually, someone asks what being a stormtrooper is like.

Poe is about to brush off the question for Finn, but Finn answers quickly, “it’s lonely.”

Everyone is quiet and Finn explains, “I don’t know where I came from, if I have any family - who I was meant to be. I don’t know where or even when I was born…”

“You don’t know how old you are?” someone asks.  


“Uhm, roughly twenty-two years? Stormtroopers don’t have annual dates to go by, though, so, I’ve just never… why is everyone looking at me like that?”  


He turns to look at Poe who replies, “…because, Finn… that’s the saddest thing we’ve ever heard.”

Finn scrunches up his face and says, “nah! No, it’s okay! It’s fine - it’s really, it’s really okay. I mean, it’s not like there’d be time or meaning for celebration anyway. The diet and sleep schedules were too strict for any -”

“Have you never had cake!?” someone else shouts in outrage.  


Everyone bursts into discussion and it’s the most disgusted Finn has seen anyone with the First Order. Which is really saying something. He tells Poe this from over his shoulder and Poe tells him, “it’s easy to detach ourselves from numbers. We can be disgusted by what the First Order has done to masses of people, but it’s hard to conceptualize so many lives lost. It’s different altogether to have someone so… pure and good like you and to know you’ve been mistreated.”

Finn has the audacity to look bashful and Poe might faint, punch someone, cry or kiss Finn. It’s really a toss up. 

“Finn doesn’t know how to dance,” Poe announces.  


The crowd roars in more upset and Finn pushes Poe’s shoulder, making him laugh. 

“What? We gotta fix it!”  


The whole thing gets so involved, seven people wind up standing around Finn, directing his arms and legs in a simple waltz with an invisible partner. When Pava gives him the honor of allowing him to lead her in said waltz, they’re lucky Pava’s got steel-toed boots on. Finn gets embarrassed at first, but everyone is so encouraging, he turns that shame into focus and declares that he is determined to learn how to dance. There is thunderous applause.

From that day out, every time Finn passes someone on base, on the flight line, in the cafeteria, he’s stopped and made to waltz. It takes him a while to get the hang of it, but when three weeks have passed with nonstop harassment from General Organa’s fleet, he is a master of the waltz. He even dances with the General to prove his confidence and Poe later tells Finn it’s the happiest any of them have seen the General since Starkiller.

Finn proclaims that every time he sees a sad person, he will ask them to waltz, then. Poe very nearly tells Finn that it probably isn’t a great idea to do that, but he looks so earnest and proud, Poe is helpless to do anything but blush and nod. 

It’s a late night in Poe’s room playing a card game with Finn (that Finn is somehow beating him mercilessly at, despite never having played any game ever? Poe is offended, frankly) when Finn leans back and asks, “hey, uhm… would you wanna dance?”

Poe smiles and says, “wow, I thought you’d have gotten your fill by now.”

“Yeah, uhm,” Finn laughs nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, “but, I’ve only lead. I… I was wondering if we could dance and _you_ could lead.”  


Poe’s heart thumps excitedly and he nods, his smile wavering under the rush of being so close to Finn. They situate themselves in the center of Poe’s room and it’s awkward at first, both of them feeling stilted. Poe clears his throat, bows a little and offers his hand, asking, “Mr. Dameron, may I have this dance?”

Finn’s beautiful face splits into an even more beautiful grin and he replies with a chuckle, “yes, yes you may, Mr. Dameron.”

They dance for a while, keeping a rhythm to some silent song - Poe takes the chance to show Finn how to spin and how to be spun, teaches him just a few new moves to make his worn out waltz more interesting. Finn soaks up the knowledge like a sponge and Poe is taken with how _alive_ Finn is.

He is so ready to _live_ , he is so ready to grab the world by the reigns and take it as far as he can - it inspires Poe. It puts stars in Poe’s eyes he knows he can’t hide.

At some point, they find themselves just standing together, hands clasped on one side, Poe’s hand on Finn’s waist and Finn’s hand on Poe’s shoulder. Poe smiles sleepily at Finn and asks him what he’s thinking.

“I… I don’t know how to thank you. You… gave me a name. And a family. And a jacket… and… you’ve been so generous… I feel like I could spend my whole life repaying you.”  


“Hey,” Poe says softly, “there’s no debt here, Finn. I’m… really glad you took my name. And my jacket. And we’re all happy to have you be a part of the family, Finn. You can spend your whole life doing whatever you want now - you’re not beholden to anyone anymore.”  


Finn bites his lip, tilts his head and meets Poe’s eyes again when he asks, “…would it be okay if I still wanted to spend it with you?”

Poe’s face flushes dark red and Finn’s eyes widen in what Poe knows is his panic mode - he thinks he’s said something wrong, but Poe can’t scramble for words because his brain is melting because he’s touching Finn and Finn is touching him and Finn took his last name and he’s so good, he’s so pure, he’s so alive and he wants to be alive with Poe and how did he ever come to deserve this?

He takes Finn’s face in his hands and pulls him down a little to kiss him gently. When they pull away, the panic is gone from Finn’s eyes, but now they’re full of stars and sort of glazed over with pleasure. Poe bites his lip so he doesn’t laugh. Finn is so dopey and adorable and perfect and perfect and _perfect_.

“Was, uhm… do people do that a lot?”  


“Kissing?”  


“Yeah.”  


“Depends on the person.”  


Finn nods.

“Do you do that a lot?”  


“Kissing?”  


“Yeah.”  


“No.”  


Finn’s face is getting hot under Poe’s palms.

“Was that, uhm… a platonic sort of -”  


“No,” Poe answers readily.  


“So, not a platonic sort of -”  


“No,” Poe laughs, blushing lightly.  


Finn smiles that beautiful, charming smile and asks, “so… is it… it’s the kind of romantic sort of kissing?”

“Yeah,” Poe says softly, brushing his thumb over Finn’s cheek, “yeah, definitely the romantic sort.”  


“Can we… do more of that?”  


Poe laughs and before he pulls Finn in close to kiss him senseless, he says against Finn’s full lips, “anything for you, Mr. Dameron.”


End file.
